Vegetables discarded, mulched over E. coli fears in Europe

A digger mixes discarded vegetables with compost in a pile of vegetable residue at the Albahida vegetable recycling plant in Nijar, in the southern Spanish region of Almeria, June 8.

Francisco Bonilla / Reuters

A worker unloads discarded vegetables at the Albahida vegetable recycling plant in Nijar, in the southern Spanish region of Almeria, June 8.

Michael Probst / AP

Farmer Mario Walter mulches thousands of salads on his field in Nieder-Erlenbach near Frankfurt, June 8, 2011. After an outbreak of E. coli that has killed at least 25 people and sickened hundreds in Europe, salads and other vegetables can hardly be sold in Germany.

Michael Probst / AP

Farmer Mario Walter mulches thousands of salads on his field in Nieder-Erlenbach near Frankfurt, June 8. After an outbreak of E. coli that has killed at least 25 people and sickened hundreds in Europe, salads and other vegetables can hardly be sold in Germany.

Francisco Bonilla / Reuters

A digger unloads discarded vegetables into a pile of vegetable residue at the Albahida vegetable recycling plant in Nijar, in the southern Spanish region of Almeria, June 8.